I have no idea why, but here I am. If I tried to tell you otherwise, I would be lying to you as well.

Friday, May 22, 2009

The Simple Life

I am a very simple person. Really. I am not high maintenance and can easily manage myself with very little outside supervision. Somewhat absent minded, somewhat lacking in common sense. Introverted to the point of self-involvement, but hey, at least that means I am not wasting much of your time, yet able to bring forth some measure of empathy when called for.

I need only the following (and the order of priority changes day to day):

1. Periodic non-sexual attention from the spouse.2. More than periodic sexual attention from the spouse.3. Knowledge that my grown kids are occupied, safe and reasonably content.4. Knowledge that my dad, even if not living an ideal of life is safe and reasonably engaged.5. Books, in any format, with a steady stream instantly available so I never have to worry about being stuck with 'nothing to read', a fate almost worse than death in my mind.6. Occasional acknowledgement of my existence from my cat.7. My Mac Book and a fast Internet connection - and the charger that goes with it.8. My iPod/iPhone, full of my music and the charger that goes with it.9. Occasional updates on the health and well being of extended family and my few closest friends.10. My sheets changed regularly.11. Some dirt to dig in periodically. Actually planting something would be nice but not mandatory.12. A refrigerator stocked with my food necessities of the day, which right now are: Diet Coke (always) jello sugar free pudding, celery, baby romaine lettuce, baby spinach, sun dried tomatoes, reduced sugar peanut butter, Havarti cheese, skim milk, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dried cranberries and pecans. Oh and occasionally some chicken or tuna salad thrown in for good measure. There are always more foods I like, but this collection can keep me going for weeks.13. My bathtub and bath salts14. Lulu Guinness perfume (the original scent)15. A couple of personal appliances that shall remain unnamed.16. If forced to leave the house, appropriate clothing beyond my yoga pants/tee shirt or nightgown.17. Yoga18. Reliable transportation to periodically get me from here to there, but I'm not picky about the mode - whatever works is fine with me.19. Tweezers

That's about it. Certainly a bountiful of needs compared to those of a monk. But still, if you think about it, it's not a lot in the big scheme of things.

I need to remind myself of this periodically. Knowing this makes me content. I could want or demand far more from life, but I've learned the hard way, that more rarely equals better. So I can live happily with what I have.